Emirates Food Bank launched by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum

“The Year of Giving is a golden opportunity to unleash the humanitarian potential and charitable innovations of the UAE people and all local institutions. We are very pleased to begin the Year of Giving with an initiative related to the most important human need, food, to deepen the merit of generosity in Emirati people.”

This statement was recently released by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum as he celebrates his 11th anniversary of accession as Dubai’s ruler. On the special day, he launched the Emirates Food Bank as a humanitarian foundation that aims to inculcate the values of generosity and offering food, establishing Dubai as the region’s first city in achieving zero food waste to landfill.
He added, “The UAE people are one on the most generous. We will try through the Emirates Food Bank to put this great value of generosity and feeding people within a sustainable institutional framework,”
Sheikh Mohammed requested on every public and private sector and to all of UAE community to participate and take initiatives for this charity in order to celebrate his accession. Hotels, fοοd factories, farms, hospitality foundations, giant supermarkets and philanthropists are all encouraged to be included in the fοοd bank. The bank will also deal with surplus fresh and canned food in a professional manner under the supervision of relevant bodies.
The food will be distributed to UAE and abroad in coordination with some charitable and humanitarian organizations. The food bank will strive to take partnerships with leading hotel chains, food manufacturers and farms and it will allow volunteers to distribute the food in the UAE and internationally.
With a vision that aspires to promote social practices and habits to rationalize fοοd consumption, reduce food surplus and, accordingly, cut quantities of fοοd waste, the Fοοd Bank will aim to activate corporate social responsibility, specifically in hotels, restaurants, fοοd manufacturers and fοοd contractors as well as supermarkets and hospitality sector-related bodies.
“2017 is a year of goodness and blessing in the UAE. We want the UAE’s God-given blessings to reach every place in the world through innovative initiatives and humanitarian foundations. We seek through the newly established bank to engage the largest number of community institutions and volunteers in a new charity system following in the footsteps of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan,” Sheikh Mohammad announced.
With a goal to save the Dh13 billion wasted in the disposal of leftovers and fοοd waste, the bank also strives to strengthen the recycling economy and activate commercial and industrial activities in a way that firmly holds the concept of sustainability.
The first phase of the Fοοd Bank will commence operations in Dubai with accordance to a strategic plan. Several branches and other centers of the bank will be set up in the UAE and abroad during this phase, specifically in less fortunate countries, as part of the UAE’s proclamation aiming to broaden its charitable, relief and humanitarian activities in the world.